Such a device and method are known from EP 1 081 507 A2. This reference discloses a device in which the receiving device is supported relative to the storage layer by an air cushion that rests on the storage layer. The distance between the receiving device and the storage layer should be maintained constant within small tolerance ranges. This should be guaranteed by a uniform air pressure between the air cushion and storage layer. On account of the small air gap, which is of an order of magnitude of about 2 μm, such air cushions can be displacedly formed only with difficulty along the storage layer in order thereby to permit an optimal readout of information.